In The Line Of Duty: The First Responders Go On Call

It was lovely yesterday to meet the new voluntary Wickhambrook First Responders Group as they went on call for the first time covering Wickhambrook and surrounding villages.

The seven-strong team, who could make the difference between life and death, will operate under the auspices of the ambulance service. They will be called out as the first line of emergency care while paramedics and ambulance staff are on their way to tend someone suffering from breathing difficulties.

The group’s coordinator, Peter Vince says there were 37 incidents in the area last year to which they could have been called and provided assistance.

Since the group was formed last autumn they have recruited volunteers from Wickhambrook, Ousden and Chedburgh and have been busy fundraising and undertaking training.

By early April there will be about 12 people trained and two sets of kit including two defibrillators. I am happy to have funded the purchase of the first set of kit. I very willingly agreed to give the group about £1,150 out of my locality budget to buy the kit.

I want to congratulate them for their energy and enthusiasm in getting this group up and running so quickly. I hope none of us ever needs to call on them but aren’t we lucky to have such committed and caring friends and neighbours?

If you would like to be involved or want to know more, please contact Peter Vince on wickhambrookcfr@gmail.com